Now and Then
by Shinji Shazaki
Summary: Random Katoph fluff piece, inspired by artwork by Mag.  Read, review, and enjoy.


Now and Then

Disclaimer: Nickelodeon (and all others) own "Avatar: The Last Airbender." Mag (fortheloveofpizza. owns the art piece this story is based on. I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.

"You think that there's someone staring at us." Katara looked up at Toph, staring confusedly at the young woman's pale eyes.

"No, I don't," she protested. "What makes you think that?"

"You're trembling. I can feel it in your hand." She squeezed Katara's hand, grinning her lopsided grin as she turned her head slightly. "Why're you so worried? It's not like we're getting chased anymore. Twinkle Toes did his thing. We're fine."

"People still—they still do stare at us, Toph."

"Well, yeah. It's not like they get to see a beautiful woman like you every day. And it's probably a treat to see the Blind Bandit walking around doing her shopping."

"Toph, _please_." Katara's grip grew tight, and they came to a halt. The city, bordered on one side by a great lake and river and a massive mountain on the other, was large, and terribly busy close to its center. On its fringes, however, it was far more peaceful, with more places for people to simply be alone. Before she stilled, Toph could see in the earth that they were near one of their favorite places: a small pagoda that looked out over the lake and river while sitting near the hills of the mountain.

"You can't tell me that you can't see it sometimes," Katara murmured. Years ago, Toph would have cocked an eyebrow and waited for the requisite apology. Even now, she had to bite her tongue to hold back her sarcasm. There was a new tremor in Katara's hand that made it all the easier to do so. "You must hear it sometimes. A snide comment—a whisper behind someone's hand."

"Doesn't mean I care." The words flew out of her mouth before she had a chance to bite her tongue again.

"I don't know how you can't care about it," Katara said in return. "Okay, fine—you're the Blind Bandit, champion of every earthbending competition you've ever entered."

"And you're the only master waterbender this far from either pole that's not the Avatar," Toph replied. "What are you worried about?" Katara sighed heavily, and Toph could feel how her shoulders had sagged when she pulled her close.

"Everything," Katara whispered against Toph's shoulder. "After everything—_everything_ we did and went through—they can heap praise on us and Aang for saving the world and stopping the Fire Lord, but we didn't make the world perfect." She sighed once more and pressed her head more firmly against Toph's shoulder.

They stood silently for a time, Toph running one hand through Katara's hair. Distantly, she wondered how many times Katara had scolded her for her dirt-covered hands when they had first met, insisting that there be at least some modicum of cleanliness in the earthbending noble girl. She still could recall the tone of surprise that Katara's voice had carried when, seven years ago, a timid thirteen-year-old had admitted to spending the night scrubbing her hands completely clean of dirt just to avoid sullying the sixteen-year-old Katara's hair while touching it. She had been fascinated by its thickness and its incredibly fine texture, murmuring that it was smoother than obsidian. She had marveled all the more when she felt Katara's heartbeat begin to flutter through the earth beneath her feet.

"If the world was perfect," Toph said thoughtfully, "I would be able to see you." She grinned once more, letting her fingers follow the natural wave in Katara's hair. "I'd know what it was that Aang was so crazy about."

"He didn't like me like that," Katara protested. "I was more like a mother to him."

"Do I have to check if you're blind?" The question earned her a punch to the chest, but it was playful and gentle, and she heard Katara's soft chuckle. The laughter was followed swiftly by another sigh, and the smile on Toph's face faded. "It really bothers you that much?"

"It comes and goes," Katara said quietly. "There are days when all I notice are my students getting better at waterbending. Then there are days when I feel like everyone is staring at me when I cheer you on at your tournaments."

"Then let them stare," Toph said.

"Why do they have to?" Katara asked. "It's just—what are we doing that's so strange?"

"Nothing." Toph let her hands fall to rest on Katara's hips, smiling slightly. "You see people do this all the time, right?"

"Yes," Katara said slowly. She raised an eyebrow, looking up at Toph's face. The young woman's smile grew wider as she took one of Katara's hands from its place around her waist, lifting it and wrapping her fingers around it.

"And you see people do this all the time, right?" Katara soon found herself smiling, a blush darkening her cheeks. Toph tilted her head forward slowly, pausing when their foreheads touched. She brought her other hand up from Katara's hip, trailing her fingers lightly up the other woman's side to cup her chin. Her smile grew sly and knowing, and Katara flushed even darker.

"And you see people do this all the time, right?" She tipped Katara's chin up, leaning down and kissing her. The kiss was lingering. It was soft, warm, and wonderfully familiar. When Toph stood straight, smiles spread on both of their faces.

"I do," Katara said.

"Then there's nothing strange about it," Toph said in turn. "Forget about other people."

"When you say it like that, there's no argument to be had," Katara chuckled.

"For once, I don't think we're arguing," Toph replied.

"Just about other people. We've shut out so many of them."

"No, the only people we 'shut out' were my parents, and that's because they still thought I was going to be the meek little flower they kept in their garden." Katara bit her lip at the strangled growl that wrenched its way out of Toph's throat. Toph gripped her hands tightly, brow furrowed. "Forget about them, Katara. I don't care. I didn't need them before, and I don't need them now."

"I never wanted to separate you from your family," Katara murmured.

"I don't _care_," Toph insisted. "You're more than enough of a family for me. I trust you more than them, and I love you more than them." She managed a faint grin. "I trust you enough to tell me that I don't look stupid with all the stuff you've wound up putting on me."

Katara smiled, looking fondly at Toph from head to foot. Her hair, once bound in a single, massive bun held together by unknown forces, sat coiled in a braid that Katara took the time to wind and pin up every morning. Her clothes, simple unto the point of frumpiness in her adolescence, fit her form perfectly while keeping her arms and feet bare for her ever-necessary contact with the earth. Though she could not see it, Katara knew every line and hue of ink that had gone into the winged beast tattoo on Toph's right shoulder and upper arm. The creature, drawn from old stories and myths passed down in the water tribes, was something that had fascinated Toph completely. Two years ago, she asked Katara to sketch the creature as best she could, and had returned one afternoon with the creature tattooed upon her skin in vibrant gold ink. Katara had not asked for an explanation, only providing aftercare for the mark and constant caring for the woman who carried it.

"And you trust me when I tell you that you're the most beautiful woman I know, right?" Toph asked. Katara smiled again, sparing a glance for herself. Her clothes were just as simple as those she had worn in her youth, with a few added fringes of white fur for warmth and comfort. Her hair, once braided neatly, fell onto her back freely, simply because Toph loved to run her fingers through it.

"I do," she replied.

"Good," Toph murmured. She pressed another kiss to Katara's lips, trailing her fingers over Katara's eyes. Katara closed her eyes and returned the kiss. For that moment, she let the dark enfold her. The dark of blindness, Toph had explained to her in a whisper, many nights ago as they lay in each other's arms, was something that had to be accepted. It could not be struggled against, and Katara had found it just as welcoming as the brightness of sight when Toph brought her into the black.

They parted slowly, Katara opening her eyes to find Toph smiling at her, her roughened hands cupping her cheeks. She smiled in return, gently moving one of Toph's hands to touch her lips and see the smile that was there. Toph's smile grew all the more, finally turning into the wide, lopsided grin that Katara knew well.

"We really _should_ go get our shopping done now," she said quietly. Katara chuckled and nodded slowly.

"The quicker we get done with that, the sooner we can go home," she murmured. "All I want to do is spend the afternoon with you."

"That can be arranged, Sweetness," Toph replied. She offered her arm, and Katara took it with another small smile, laying her head against the curve of Toph's shoulder. Toph could only grin her crooked grin, the duo striding forth with all the peace and pride of a couple in love.

—_end—_


End file.
